The New Democrat Online

Liberal Democrat

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Happy Birthday to my lovely and beautiful mother who turns, well she would probably kill me even from three-thousand miles away if I gave that out. But Happy Birthday mom and to having a lot more birthdays as well, no matter how long you live.Ed Valenzuela: Happy Birthday to You

The social contract means different things to different people and depending on where you are on the American political spectrum will show what you think of it. And for people on the Libertarian-Right or are Center-Right Conservatives, the role of government when it comes to economic policy and what government should be doing for people is very minimal. And people on the Right tend to just want government there to enforce contracts and laws that are designed to prevent and breakup monopolies and what is called unfair competition.

And for people who are fairly far to the Left, but still believe in having at least some type of private enterprise system, meaning capitalism, but have a big role for government especially the Federal Government in that capitalist economic system and are Progressives or Social Democrats that is more common in Europe in countries with more socialist economic systems, people who have these politics want the Federal Government there to do a lot for the people. And even to the point to be there that no one goes without or has too much. And have a government big enough to provide most of the services that people need to live well in life.

Really since 1980-81 when Ronald Reagan ran and then of course was elected President of the United States, America has been debating the role of government in America especially as it relates to the economy. And back then it was a debate between Conservative Libertarians on the Right, the Goldwater/Reagan faction of the Republican Party, versus the Progressive or even Social Democratic FDR/LBJ faction of the Democratic Party.

Back then it was between Conservative Libertarians looking to roll back the New Deal and Great Society, versus the FDR Progressives looking to keep in place what they built. And the debates between Ron Reagan on the Right and Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil on the Left generally ended somewhere in the middle. With these social programs not getting expanded or ended, but reformed to be made to be more efficient and more affordable for years to come. With the 1983 Social Security Reform Act being a great example of that.

In the early 1990s with help from groups like the Democratic Leadership Council, Liberal Democrats on the Center-Left in America because of political success of Reagan Republicans on the Right emerged as a strong force in the Democratic Party to fight back against the anti-government Right in the Republican Party. That was not about increasing government and taxes in American lives, or throwing out New Deal and Great Society programs. But wanted government to be more efficient and limited to doing the things that Americans need from government especially the Federal Government.

New Democrats want government to help people in need who live in poverty and in many cases lack the skills to be successful in life on their own. To get themselves the tools that they need to be successful in life. Instead of government trying to do practically everything for everybody or practically nothing for people. This is what is known as the New Democratic Coalition that gave Mike Dukakis the Democratic nomination for president in 1988. And of course Bill Clinton the Democratic nomination for President in 1992. And a big reason why Governor Clinton was elected president in 1992, because he was seen as a New Democrat who wouldn’t try to tax people to death or out of business.

So far over the last thirty years the Reagan conservative side has won in the sense that Americans tend to not be looking for an increased role of the Federal Government in our economic lives. The New Democrats in the 1990s were successful in holding back the Conservatives and preventing them from rolling back the New Deal and Great Society. But also in presenting an alternative agenda to for Americans in saying that government can’t do everything for people and can’t do nothing. That we need it there to do the things that we all need government for. And government can also play a role in providing able-bodied and mentally able people get themselves the tools that they need to be able to make it on their own in life and be successful on their own.

Contact Erik Schneider About FRS FreeState

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Blogger/Publisher Erik Schneider

I blog about practically everything that I'm interested in and knowledgeable about. Primarily about current affairs, news, politics and history. But for history, is not just about government and politics. But it covers those things, but entertainment, from movies to music, TV, sports, movies that are about politics and current affairs. Whether the characters are played by actors, or whether the film is in documentary form.

I'm interested in a lot of different things and spend a lot of my time learning about those things to the point that I feel the need to tell everybody what I know and think about what I have learn. Not sure if that is a good thing, or not. Since I'm a blogger, I hope that is good. Again for current affairs and news, as well as politics. But what is going on in those areas today, but also what happened in those areas in the past. History, is about teaching today's generation about what happened in the past. So we know what went well back in the day, but also what didn't work. So we know what works and what doesn't.

But again not just current affairs, news and politics. I love movies, especially classic movies. And when I'm not working and I'm at home, you can generally find me watching a movie. Or a ball game from that day, or a ball game from the past. And then if I'm really interested in what I'm seeing and I believe I'm pretty knowledgable about that, you can generally find what I learn from what I just watched up on my blog. You can physically take me away from my blog, but my mind is always there thinking about what's next for the blog. Looking for the next piece to write about.

I'm also a big fan of bios and watch a lot of them and read about people I'm interested in a lot as well. And again when I see a good bio about someone that I'm really interested in and I'm knowledgeable about, you can find what I know about that person and era up on my blog. I love documentaries, true crime, bios and bios of all kinds. Actors, politicians, athletes musicians, activists, a lot of different people.

I blog about a lot of different things. So if you're checking out my blog, but you're only interested in perhaps a few areas, you're probably not going to see a lot of what you're looking for. And end up seeing a lot of things you could probably care less about. But if you're someone who has multiple interests and knowledgable about those areas as well, I hope you check out my blog. Because I think we can learn from each other. I always welcome input to my blog. Just try to keep it professional and courteous. We can disagree with each other without trying to destroy each other. And perhaps even learn from each other.